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Bridging the
Bridging the employability skills employability
gap: going beyond classroom walls skills gap
Lin Mei Tan, Fawzi Laswad and Frances Chua
School of Accountancy, Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand
225
Received 14 April 2021
Abstract Revised 6 August 2021
Purpose – Employability skills are critical for success in the workplace, even more so in this era of 30 October 2021
Accepted 25 November 2021
globalisation of economies and advancement in technologies. However, there is ample evidence of the gap
between the skills acquired by graduates at universities and the skills expected by employers in the
workplace. Applying the modes of grasping and transforming the experience embodied in Kolb’s experiential
learning theory (ELT) (1976, 1984), the purpose of this paper is to examine the development of employability
skills of accountancy students through their involvement in two extracurricular activities: community
accounting and an accountancy club.
Design/methodology/approach – Underpinned by Kolb’s (1976, 1984) four modes of ELT and work-
integrated learning to develop professional competencies required for future work, an online survey of
accounting students was conducted to assess their reflections on involvement in these two aforementioned
extracurricular activities over a two-year period.
Findings – The findings indicate that the students had developed useful cognitive and behavioural
skills from their participation in these extracurricular activities. These findings are consistent with
the literature on internships and service-learning, both of which have been associated with
transferable skills development.
Originality/value – Prior studies focused on in-classroom learning activities or internships to help
students develop various essential skills required in the workplace. However, extracurricular activities have
received little attention in the accounting education literature. This study provides insights into skills
accounting students can gain from extracurricular participation in community accounting and an
accountancy club.

Keywords Accounting education, Employability skills, Experiential learning,

Extracurricular activities, Work-integrated learning
Paper type Research paper

1. Introduction
The need to address the skills gap issue has been debated in the accounting discipline
for more than three decades. Numerous studies in both developed and developing
countries have provided empirical evidence that many students lack the essential
skills required by employers in the workplace (Abayadeera and Watty, 2014; Bui and
Porter, 2010; Jackling and de Lange, 2009). The literature has shown that employers
seek to recruit graduates who have not only technical but also non-technical, skills,
such as organisational expertise and the ability to communicate well, work in teams,
solve problems and think critically (Tan and Laswad, 2015). These non-technical
skills, often termed generic or employability skills, [1] are critical for success in the
workplace, even more so in this era of economic globalisation and technological Pacific Accounting Review
advancement (O’Connell et al., 2015). Vol. 34 No. 2, 2022
pp. 225-248
Experiential learning is a process of education through experience which directly © Emerald Publishing Limited
0114-0582
involves students in their own active learning. Different experiential learning activities DOI 10.1108/PAR-04-2021-0050
PAR (ELAs) in the classroom have been suggested to help students develop various
34,2 employability skills (Tan and Laswad, 2015; Wickham, 2018). In-classroom ELAs include
the use of case studies, computer simulations, group work and role play in undergraduate
accounting courses (Gittings et al., 2020). Prior studies show that these ELAs have helped
accounting students to develop several skills including written/verbal communication skills,
teamwork skills and critical thinking skills (Bremser and White, 2000; Butler et al., 2019).
226 Although students benefited from these ELAs in the classroom, some skills can be better
developed outside, rather than inside, the classrooms (Rama, 2007). The inclusion of work-
integrated learning (WIL) programmes is perceived to be beneficial in enhancing relevant
real-world learning. Internships and work placements are good examples of “experiential
learning” outside the classroom, where students experience real work settings directly
(Paisey and Paisey, 2010). Internships, therefore, provide accounting students with the
opportunity to develop skills, like problem-solving and critical thinking, in an actual
business environment, while at the same time also gaining other social and human relations
skills and improving their perceptions of self-efficacy (Beard, 2007; Paisey and Paisey, 2010).
Service-learning, which is another form of experiential learning within the community, has
also been supported by some universities, particularly in the USA (Jacoby, 1996). Student
involvement in community services not only benefits the community but also allows
students to develop a sense of civic responsibility (DeLaune et al., 2010).
Undoubtedly, out-of-classroom programmes provide a valuable experiential learning
opportunity for students. Nevertheless, integrating such programmes within the accounting
curriculum is not always feasible (DeLaune et al., 2010), for instance, finding an appropriate
community project opportunity that allows students to apply the course content within the
curriculum. In addition, not all universities are able to secure internships for their students
as there is a lack of host employers offering meaningful work experience.
There are other forms of extracurricular activities for students to get involved in, for
example, participating in clubs on- or off-campus, or volunteering in community projects.
Participating in extracurricular activities is also a form of learning for the students, as they
can apply theory to practice as well as having the opportunity to develop different skills,
including social networking (Bullen et al., 2018). However, extracurricular activities and
their contribution to students’ learning and skills development have received little attention
in the accounting education literature [2].
This study explores the impact of two types of ELAs – out-of-class experience in the
development of employability skills from the accounting students’ perspective. The research
questions addressed in this study are as follows:

Q1. Whether students’ perceptions of their involvement in extracurricular activities

assist them in the development of cognitive skills?
Q2. Whether students’ perceptions of their involvement in extracurricular activities
assist them in the development of behavioural skills, both personal and
interpersonal?
The study focuses on student perceptions of their development of employability skills, both
cognitive and behavioural (personal and interpersonal), from their involvement in
community accounting work and a university accountancy club. Community accounting
involves accounting students volunteering to work in teams providing free advice and
training for small-to-medium not-for-profit community organisations, under the supervision
of chartered accountants. The accountancy club is a platform for members to connect and
organise activities that are of interest to the wider student body. An online survey was used
to elicit the views of those students who participated in community accounting work and the Bridging the
accountancy club over a two-year period. The findings provide further insights into the employability
skills students can gain from these two less-explored types of extracurricular activity for
accounting students.
skills gap
This paper is structured in the following manner. Section 2 provides an overview of the
literature on employability skills and experiential learning (including WIL). The research
design and findings are then presented in Sections 3 and 4, respectively. Section 5 concludes
with implications for accounting educators. 227

2. Literature review
2.1 Employability skills
Since the 1980s, criticisms have been levelled at the accounting education curriculum for
being too technically focused and in need of reform (Albrecht and Sack, 2000). In this era of
rapid social, economic and technical changes, students’ development of employability skills
is important as these skills are “[. . .] the non-technical skills required to effectively
participate in the workplace” (Department of Education, Employment and Workplace
Relations (DEEWR), 2012, p. 2) which is increasingly diverse and requires new skill sets and
aptitudes. The literature on employability skills provides ample evidence of the gap between
the skills acquired by graduates at universities and the skills expected by employers in the
workplace (Hancock et al., 2009; Kavanagh and Drennan, 2008).
Numerous studies have consistently shown a number of employability skills highly
regarded by employers, such as interpersonal and personal skills (de Lange et al., 2006;
Johnson and Johnson, 1995; Tan and Laswad, 2015), adaptability, communication,
teamwork and use of technology (Bremser and White, 2000; Jackling and de Lange, 2009;
Jackson and Meek, 2021; Oosthuizen et al., 2021; Plant et al., 2019).
As a result, concerns over the skills gap issue have led to calls for universities to consider
ways to foster skills development in this era of advanced changes in technology and
globalisation of economies in the business environment (Jones, 2010) and particularly for
those institutions seeking accreditation and re-accreditation with highly-sought-after
educational accreditation bodies such as the European Foundation for Management
Development (EFMD) and the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business
(AACSB) (Butler et al., 2019; Oosthuizen et al., 2021). In their standards relating to student
skill development and curriculum design, these accreditation bodies have clearly identified
the requisite skills to improve the career readiness and employability of accounting students
by emphasising both the technical and non-technical skills and competencies required for
accreditation. For instance, EFMD’s accreditation guidelines for its undergraduate
programme stipulates that business schools summarise the key managerial skills
(teamwork, interpersonal skills, presentation skills, project management and leadership
skills) that the school promotes in students and the methods used to achieve them (EFMD,
2018, p. 22). A key focus of this programme is on “connections with practice” where
practitioners are being involved in the student journey (EFMD, 2018, Chapter 3). In a similar
vein, the AACSB accredited schools are to demonstrate accountability and assure external
constituents that graduate capabilities are sufficiently developed through curricula
management and assurance of learning. Curricula management needs to capture input from
key stakeholders and new developments in business practices. Results of assurance of
learning (intellectual, technological and behavioural) are to ensure that the learning goals
are met (Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB), 2018, Standard 8).
The increasing importance of skills development is also reflected in the accounting
professional bodies such as the International Federation of Accountants, CPA Australia and
PAR Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand. For instance, the revised International
34,2 Accounting Education Standards Board’s 2015 release, International Education Standard
(IES) 3 Initial Professional Development – Professional Skills (International Federation of
Accountants (IFAC) International Accounting Education Standards Board, 2015) indicates
the level of professional skills (intellectual, interpersonal, and communication, personal, and
organisational) needed to perform the role of a professional accountant. A CPA Australia
228 report, authored by Jackson et al. (2021), advocates that the university, industry and
professional practices should work together, independently and/or collectively, in
strengthening accounting and finance graduates’ new skill sets for sustainable graduate
career prospects. Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand (CA ANZ) (2020) has
also specified similar skills required for successful professional accountants. It recommends
a “capability model” clearly identifying the cognitive (knowledge and mental skills) and
non-cognitive attributes (attitudes and behaviours) that members need to succeed in the
future. Such actions signify a growing demand to improve student competence in
addressing the skills gap.

2.2 Experiential learning

A wide variety of tasks and different ELAs have been suggested to enhance student
competence in the various important skills (Gittings et al., 2020). Experiential learning is
drawn from Kolb’s experiential learning theory (ELT) where the focus is on the process of
learning through experience (Butler et al., 2019; Jacoby, 2014). This process has its
intellectual roots in the experiential works in philosophy, social psychology and cognitive
psychology (Dewey, 1938; Lewin, 1951; Piaget, 1965) articulating the inseparable nature of
learning and experience. Kolb’s ELT provides a holistic model of the learning process which
is consistent with how people learn, grow and develop. It emphasises the central role
experience plays in the learning process – “the process whereby knowledge is created
through the transformation of experience” (Kolb, 1984, p. 38). “[T]ransformation to
experience” suggests the existence of an adaptation process as a person’s survival depends
on his or her “ability to adapt not only in the reactive sense of fitting into the physical and
social world, but in the proactive sense of creating and shaping those worlds” (Kolb, 1984,
p. 1; Emphasis added.).
Kolb’s model identifies four stages of learning: concrete experience, reflective
observation, abstract conceptualisation and active experimentation. These constitute a four-
stage learning cycle which begins with immediate or concrete experiences (concrete
experience) that serve as the basis for observations and reflections (reflective observations).
These reflections are then assimilated into abstract concepts from which new implications
for actions can be drawn (abstract conceptualisation). These implications can be actively
tested and serve as guides in creating new experiences (active experimentation). Kolb (1976)
noted that the most effective and complete learning takes place when learning activities
embrace all four modes.
The ELT learning model suggests that learning requires individuals to resolve abilities
that are polar opposites and that the learner must continually choose which set of learning
abilities he or she will use in a specific learning situation. A closer examination of the
learning cycle reveals how the four stages are related. There are two dialectically related
modes of “grasping experience” – concrete experience and abstract conceptualisation and
two dialectically related modes of “transforming experience” – reflective observation and
active experimentation (Kolb, 1984). As different people learn best in different ways (Astin,
1999; Tan and Laswad, 2015), learning does not occur in a set order (Kolb and Kolb, 2005). In
grasping experience, some people perceive new information through immersing in concrete
reality and experiencing the tangible qualities of the world while others tend to perceive, Bridging the
grasp or take hold of new information through symbolic representation or abstract employability
conceptualisation, thinking about, analysing or systematically planning, rather than using
sensation as a guide. Likewise, in transforming or processing experience, some people tend
skills gap
to carefully watch others who are involved in the experiences and reflect on what happens,
while others choose to start doing things (Kolb, 1984). These involve the development of
cognitive skills with learners moving through the cycle of experiencing, reflecting,
abstracting and acting as they construct meaning from their experiences. Inevitably, this 229
process also leads to behavioural skill changes.
Butler et al. (2019, p. 13) summarised the learner actions as Do, Reflect, Think and Apply.
Drawing from Kolb’s ELT, active learning pedagogies are considered more useful than
passive pedagogies (e.g. lectures), because they promote student engagement in the learning
process. At the same time, they also provide students with the opportunity to develop a
number of key employability attributes, such as problem-solving, intellectual,
communication and teamwork skills (Fortin and Legault, 2010; Ruder et al., 2018). The
Pathways Commission (2012), a report jointly produced by the American Accounting
Association and the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants on chartering a
national strategy for accounting higher education, also advocates that the accounting
curricula facilitate and encourage active student engagement in learning and experience in
real-world settings. In Action Item 41.5 of the report, it is stated that “formative education
for practice cannot be accomplished exclusively in the traditional classroom setting” without
“a foundational clinical learning experience.” A similar concept employing the experiential
learning principles called WIL is perceived as “a national priority and a strategic direction
for Australian universities” (Kay et al., 2019, p. 401). Section 2.2.1 examines why WIL has
become increasingly popular with governments, employers, tertiary institutions and
students.
2.2.1 Work-Integrated learning. While Kolb’s ELT focuses on enhancing the learner’s
experiencing, reflecting, thinking and acting, WIL integrates a student’s academic studies
with relevant co-curricular and extracurricular experiences in the workplace or similar
settings for academic, personal, and career benefits. WIL is “a structured strategy
integrating classroom studies with learning through productive work experiences in a field
related to a student’s academic or career goals” (National Commission for Cooperative
Education, 2002, cited in Groenewald, 2004, p. 17). It depicts a partnership among students,
educational institutions and employers, with specified responsibilities assumed by each
party (Abeysekera, 2006).
Increased pressure on the higher education sector to adjust its curriculum learning
outcomes is deemed imperative in the 21st century in the context of a rapidly changing
information- and knowledge-intensive economy, declining graduate labour markets and
intense focus on graduate employment metrics such as the skills deficiencies (Martin and
Rees, 2019; Jackson and Meek, 2021; Jackson and Tomlison, 2021). The employability
emphasis, endorsed by government and industry agendas, has provided universities with
an opportunity to offer programmes that help to develop work-readiness in graduates
(Martin and Rees, 2019; Jackson and Meek, 2021).
WIL, whether it is embedded in the curriculum or as voluntary extracurricular activities,
has a clear link to a workplace or employer. The collaboration between professional bodies
and industry is essential (Ferns et al., 2019) and has accelerated actions by academic
institutions. The traditional teacher-focused teaching format has been extended to include
work-integrated activities such as work placement/internship, project-based learning,
consulting, mentoring, fieldwork, incubator/entrepreneurial experience, service learning or
PAR community service and others (Abeysekera, 2006; Jackson and Meek, 2021; Stanley and Xu,
34,2 2019; Universities Australia, 2019).
WIL, a variant of experiential learning, is perceived to be a sound pedagogy to prepare
students’ career readiness. Its student-focus provides student-learners with the opportunity
to “integrate” their learning from in-class settings to relevant out-of-class experiences and, in
turn, reciprocate learning back to their academic studies (Stanley and Xu, 2019). Whether it
230 is co-curricular and/or extracurricular offering, WIL represents a three-way balance of
power between the learner (student), the university (academic unit) and the industry
(employer) (Stanley and Xu, 2019). It also reflects the profession’s strategic focus on
enhancing students’ competencies and employability in the changing corporate landscape of
globalisation and digitalisation (Jackson and Meek, 2021; Jackson and Tomlinson, 2021).
Prior research on ELAs undertaken by Australian researchers such as Butler et al. (2019)
and Gittings et al. (2020) also bear some resemblances of WIL programmes although their
focus tended to lean towards the enhancement of skill sets and less on career-readiness.

2.3 Co-curricular activities

Both in-classroom and out-of-classroom ELAs, including WIL, have their merits in
providing students with the opportunities to do, reflect, think, and apply. Examples of ELAs
that have been used in classrooms include case studies, debates, financial statement
analysis, problem-based learning, game creation, role-playing, presentations, group work
and simulations (Butler et al., 2019, p. 16). A review of published research on ELAs in
undergraduate accounting courses at universities (Gittings et al., 2020) shows that case
studies and simulations were most commonly used. Prior studies further indicate that
students engaged in ELAs generally have a positive academic, career, ethical, social and
personal outcome, and these are not manifest in students who are not engaged in these
programmes (Furco, 1996).
For students to gain experiential learning out of the classrooms, some universities
arrange field experiences, game creation, meetings or events, not-for-profit consulting or
volunteering (Butler et al., 2019, p. 19), while others organise internships or work placements
for their students as they are highly regarded as a valuable learning experience in the real
world (Butler et al., 2019; Furco, 1996). Studies show that those involved in work placement
activities displayed better problem-solving and critical thinking, interpersonal skills,
adaptability and self-efficacy/interpersonal skills (Beard, 2007; Beck and Halim, 2008; Paisey
and Paisey, 2010; Rubin, 2002; Surridge, 2009). Some universities, particularly in the USA,
implemented service-learning activities where students are generally required to spend a
period of time helping out with projects in the community. Some projects are focused on
accounting systems design, tax and regulation compliance, financial management or audit
preparation (Bremser, 2007; DeLaune et al., 2010). These types of out-of-classroom
programmes are usually well integrated into the curricula where students are required to
reflect on their learning experiences in the form of written assignments, journals, group
discussion, role play or presentations (McCoskey and Warren, 2003; Rama, 2007).
Although universities support internships, they require the cooperation of the workplace
and not all universities are able to secure internships for their students. It can also be
challenging to organise appropriate community projects for students in a relatively limited
time available during the semester (Chiang, 2008; Cook et al., 2003, p. 100). Other challenges
of integrating experiential learning outside the classroom into the curriculum include
methods of assessment and grading, large classes, scheduling and time management, tight
curriculum and funding (Carr, 1998; Chiang, 2008; Mech, 2007; Rama, 2007; Ruder et al.,
2018; Tschopp, 2004). Other intervening factors include the study-work-life balance
highlighted by Beatson et al. (2021). Increasingly, non-academic work off-campus (full time Bridging the
or part time) decreases the time and energy that students can devote to studies and employability
extracurricular activities.
skills gap
2.4 Extracurricular activities
Astin’s student involvement theory (1999) suggests that the greater the student’s
involvement in educational institutions, the greater will be the amount of student learning 231
and development. The theory defines student involvement as “the quantity and quality of
the physical and psychological energy that students invest in the college experience”
(Austin, 1999, p. 528). It also indicates that involvement does not always need to be in the
form of academic work but can also include participation in extracurricular activities.
Extracurricular activities are therefore important ELAs for students outside the formal
classroom. These types of out-of-class volunteering activities are considered “extra” because
they are optional and not required as part of the degree programme, nor are they tied in with
the course curriculum (Thompson, 2013). As defined by Bartkus et al. (2012, p. 698),
extracurricular activities are “academic or non-academic activities that are conducted under
the auspices of the school but occur outside of normal classroom time and are not part of the
curriculum.” They are therefore distinguished from service-learning, which is integrated
into the curriculum and requires students to reflect formally on their learning experiences to
gain academic credits.
Students’ involvement in student clubs or organisations is a good example of
extracurricular activities and, usually, there are a few faculty members who will act as
advisers or mentors to these on a voluntary basis to monitor/assist the learning experience.
Another example of extracurricular activity is voluntary community work that is intended
to benefit the recipient of the activity, i.e. the community (Furco, 1996; Jacoby, 2014). This
activity is usually more structured and more sustained than volunteering in clubs or student
organisations (Jacoby, 2014).
There are views that extracurricular activities, like clubs, are merely social functions but
there is also evidence showing that students do gain more than just friendship opportunities
(Rubin et al., 2002). Although there are fewer studies on out-of-class activities, like
volunteerism and community work, in the accounting discipline, some research in the
nonaccounting disciplines suggests that such activities enhance interpersonal skills like
leadership and administrative ability but did not have a significant effect on intellectual
ability (Cook et al., 2003; Holzweiss and Wickline, 2007; Kuh, 1995; Rubin et al., 2002).
Nevertheless, Howard (1986) indicates that participation in extracurricular activities has
been a more accurate predictor of workplace competence than grades. Chia (2005) further
points out that accounting firms place importance on both academic performance and
extracurricular activities when screening graduates for job interviews. Students who
supplemented their academic achievement with involvement in extracurricular activities,
therefore, may have an edge over those who do not (Schafer et al., 2020).
The review of accounting education literature shows that, although there are extensive
studies on the benefits of service-learning and internships, there are fewer studies that have
examined the benefits of accounting student involvement in extracurricular activities, like
student clubs and community work (Seow and Pan, 2014). Our research, therefore, focuses
on accounting student involvement in extracurricular activities. Given that employers prefer
recruits who demonstrate competence in not only technical but also non-technical skills
(Jones, 2010; Tan and Laswad, 2015), it is valuable to elicit student insights into how these
two types of extracurricular work or activity support their skills development.
PAR 3. Research design
34,2 Student perceptions are important in reflecting on their extracurricular learning experiences
(Beard, 2007; Beck and Halim, 2008; de Lange et al., 2006; Taylor, 2014). Drawing from the
theory of experiential learning (Kolb, 1984), this paper examines students’ perceptions on
how they construct meaning from their experiences in two extracurricular activities.

232 3.1 Sample and extracurricular activities

The study sample included undergraduate students who were enrolled in the accountancy
programmes at a large multi-campus university situated in the North Island, New Zealand.
The School of Accountancy does not have an internship programme, but facilitates two
student extracurricular activities: volunteering for community accounting work and an
accountancy club. Students do not get any credit points for these extracurricular activities.
3.1.1 Community accounting. Community accounting is a joint initiative coordinated by
two community organisations, one on each university campus. These organisations were set
up to help the many not-for-profit community organisations that lack the expertise,
knowledge, skills or confidence to manage the financial affairs of their organisations
successfully. The School of Accountancy participates and supports the initiative to enable
students to gain valuable practical experience through the development of professional
skills and attitudes and to be good citizens supporting their communities. The second- and
third-year students who were members of the community accounting initiative provided
free accounting mentoring, advice and training to clubs, societies and other not-for-profit
organisations. Regular clinics were scheduled during the semester and student teams met
and provided advice to community group representatives (usually treasurers), to identify
and discuss common financial issues. Under the supervision of a chartered accountant,
student teams designed and delivered various training courses. This involvement was in
line with the experiential learning model (concrete experience, reflective observation,
abstract conceptualisation and active experimentation) and WIL (consulting, mentoring,
service learning and community service) which provided students with an opportunity to
participate in a concrete experience, reflect on that experience, develop some understanding
of the experience and use this understanding to solve problems. The various activities
include:
 guidance for new treasurers on their role and how to perform it effectively and
efficiently;
 instructions on reading financial statements and assessing the financial situation;
 advice and support on good financial management to satisfy funders;
 help with choosing a desktop and cloud accounting system, e.g. Excel spreadsheets
and Xero;
 guidance on preparing annual returns, including financial reports for regulators;
 information on how to prepare for audits or reviews; and
 answers to numerous seemingly trivial questions that community organisations
would find too expensive to engage an accountant to answer.

Before providing advice to the community organisations, the student team consulted with
their supervising chartered accountants and then discussed with the team what the best
form of assistance might be.
At the beginning of the year, the School of Accountancy sought expressions of interest
from students willing to volunteer for community accounting projects. Volunteer students
were interviewed by the head of school to assess their capability and commitment to Bridging the
participate. In the interviews, students were informed of the goals and objectives of employability
community accounting. A total of 46 students were selected for involvement in community
accounting in 2018 and another 42 students in 2019. At the end of their community
skills gap
accounting work, students were invited to participate in an online survey.
3.1.2 Accountancy club. The goal of the accountancy club is to enrich student learning by
taking it outside of the classroom. With the support of professional bodies, the club seeks to
develop students’ social, academic and practical experiences by improving their industry 233
knowledge, networking opportunities with professionals and fellow students and their
employment prospects.
The accountancy club has two units, one on each campus of the university. Two
academic staff on each campus act as mentors from whom students can seek advice with
regard to any activities they wish to organise [3]. The executive members of the club were
selected at the beginning of each year through interviews by the head of school and the club
mentors to assess their capabilities and commitment to club responsibilities. The executive
members include: president, treasurer, communication officers, events co-ordinator and
website coordinator. The club had 19 members in 2018 and 17 members in 2019. It organised
several activities during the year including a trivia night, Xero/MYOB training, a business
ball, a careers expo, pizza study, talks with professional bodies and other fun and social
events. At the end of the academic year, the executive members of the club were invited to
participate in the online survey, as they were the ones involved in running the club.

3.2 Instrument
Drawing from the extracurricular activities and employability skills literature (Dommeyer
et al., 2016; Kuh, 1995; Tan and Laswad, 2015), a self-administered, online questionnaire
(with slight variation due to the nature of the two different samples) consisting of both
closed and open-ended questions was developed. Ethics clearance was obtained, and no
monetary incentives were provided for participation. Students were asked to indicate their
agreement (using a 1–5 point Likert scale, from strongly disagree to strongly agree) as to
whether they perceived their participation in community accounting and the accountancy
club helped them in their development of several skills. Their responses, therefore, required
them to reflect on what they thought they had learned or developed. The list of skills was
drawn from Tan and Laswad’s (2018) findings of the most frequently cited skills required by
employers in job advertisements, and they were categorised into cognitive skills (measured
by using a nine-item scale) and behavioural skills (using an 11-item scale). Students were
also asked about the supervision/mentoring provided, their satisfaction with their
involvement and any benefits they perceived they had gained from their participation. A
few open-ended questions allowed students to indicate any major highlights of their
involvement, any surprises, any disappointments and whether they would recommend
participation in such activities to others. These questions were also drawn from the
experiential learning literature (D’Abate et al., 2009). The last part of the survey elicited
demographic information.

4. Results
4.1 Background
Of the 46 participants who were sent the survey after the completion of their
community accounting work near the end of the 2018 academic year, 37 students
responded, giving a response rate of 80%. In 2019, of the 41 participants who
completed their community accounting work, 28 students participated, giving a
PAR response rate of 68%. The response rates are reasonable, although not higher than
34,2 expected. The low response rate could be explained by various factors, one of which
could be the timing of the survey, which was carried out at a busy time when students
were either completing other course assessments or studying for exams. Despite these
possible impediments to the response from accountancy club members, 18 out of the
19 students (95%) who were invited to participate in the survey responded in 2018
234 and 13 out of 17 students (76%) responded in 2019. The higher response rate of 86%
from accountancy club members in both years suggests that they were keen to
provide feedback about their involvement.
Table 1 shows the students’ backgrounds. In both activities, there were more
female than male students involved in both community accounting and the
accountancy club. Most of the students were below 30 years of age, had a part-time job
and were of the “other” group, i.e. non-European/Maori. The “other” group was
mainly comprised of Asian students.

4.2 Cognitive skills

Students who were involved in community accounting were asked whether their
participation helped them to develop cognitive skills that would not ordinarily be learned in
the classroom environment. The students who participated in the accountancy club were not
asked this question as they were more involved with organising events and networking than
in applying intellectual or analytical skills in accounting work. Table 2 shows the results,
and the responses to the nine items are arranged in descending order. All the mean scores
were above 3.0, indicating that the students perceived their participation as having
enhanced or helped them develop a variety of cognitive skills. Having the opportunity to
apply their knowledge in real situations, seeing the connections between theory and practice
and the ability to consolidate the knowledge that they have gained, were all rated very
highly. Their involvement in real-life situations also provided them with the opportunity to
enhance a number of other cognitive skills, such as planning and analysing, critical
thinking, synthesising information, problem-solving and reflective thinking. These results
support findings of prior research that some skills can be developed outside the classroom
(Jacoby, 1996; Rama, 2007) as it is a valuable learning experience in the real world (Butler
et al., 2019; Furco, 1996). Contrary to some research findings that out-of-class activities only

Community accounting Accountancy club

Background (65 students) (%) (31 students) (%)

Gender
Female 72 65
Male 28 35
Age
Below 30 71 81
30 and above 29 19
Work experience
Yes 51 71
No 49 29
Ethnicity
Table 1. NZ European/Maori 25 39
Student background Others 75 61
enhance students’ interpersonal skills and not their intellectual ability (Cook et al., 2003; Bridging the
Holzweiss and Wickline, 2007; Kuh, 1995; Rubin et al., 2002), the current results show that employability
out-of-class activities have helped students develop various cognitive skills such as
problem-solving, critical thinking and adaptability as reported by Beard (2007), Beck and
skills gap
Halim (2008); Paisey and Paisey (2010), Rubin (2002); and Surridge (2009). In particular,
these results support prior research that student involvement in community services
benefits both the community and the students themselves as they are able to develop a sense
of civic responsibility (Delaune et al., 2010; Furco, 1996; Jacoby, 2014). 235

4.3 Behavioural skills

Students involved in both community accounting and the accountancy club were asked
whether their involvement helped them learn the behavioural skills that would not
ordinarily be learned in the classroom environment. Table 3 shows the results. Students who
participated in community accounting and the accountancy club indicated that they had
developed a number of interpersonal and personal skills, as their mean scores were all above
3.0. Both groups rated teamwork, oral communication and interpersonal skills as the top
three skills that their involvement helped them develop. Building self-confidence, positive
attitude and enhancing business awareness skills were also rated highly by both groups.
These results also support the prior research that experience in real-work settings has
benefitted student learning in the development of a range of skills including teamwork,
social and human relationship skills (Beard, 2007; Paisey and Paisey, 2010; Oosthuizen et al.,
2021; Plant et al., 2019), one’s perception of self-efficacy (Beck and Halim, 2008; Rubin, 2002;
Surridge, 2009), in addition to the skills in social networking (Bullen et al., 2018).
As the accountancy club is more of a social networking club, it is not surprising to find
that students in this group rated time management skills lower than those in community
accounting. It is also interesting to note that club members rated developing leadership
skills higher than community accounting participants. Perhaps executive members of the
club were more involved in taking the lead in organising interesting events for the club
members.
This involvement also helped them with learning about the need to have a positive
attitude.
Club involvements, therefore, also provide students with personal growth opportunities.
With interpersonal and personal skills very much sought after by employers, students’
participation in community work and clubs provides them with the opportunity to develop
these important employability skills.

Cognitive skills Mean SD

Gave me opportunities to apply the acquired knowledge into real situations 4.37 0.84
Helped me to see connections between theory and practice 4.23 0.85
Enhanced my knowledge application 4.23 0.82
Enhanced my planning and analytical skills 4.20 0.79
Helped me consolidate knowledge that I had learned 4.17 0.72
Required me to synthesize information 4.07 0.78 Table 2.
Required me to think critically 4.05 0.83
Helped me to develop my reflective thinking skills 3.98 0.85
Cognitive skills
Enhanced my problem-solving skills 3.92 0.86 development in
community
Notes: 1 = strongly disagree to 5 = strongly agree accounting
PAR Community accounting Accountancy club
34,2 Behavioural skills Mean SD Mean SD

Enhanced my teamwork skills 4.39 0.71 4.55 0.62

Strengthened my oral communication skills 4.16 0.84 4.39 0.84
Improved my interpersonal skills 4.13 0.72 4.42 0.85
Strengthened my self-confidence 4.13 0.89 4.10 0.91
236 Enhanced my business/commercial awareness skills 4.02 0.80 4.16 0.80
Helped me learn about positive attitude 4.00 0.97 4.16 0.93
Helped me with decision making skills 3.97 0.92 4.00 0.97
Helped me develop leadership skills 3.95 0.90 4.30 0.79
Improved my time management skills 3.95 0.97 3.77 1.06
Table 3. Helped me to develop creativity, initiative and flexibility skills 3.88 0.93 3.90 0.91
Behavioural skills – Strengthened my written communication skills 3.78 0.96 3.58 1.09
interpersonal and
personal Notes: 1 = strongly disagree to 5 = strongly agree

4.4 Working relationship

Participants were asked to rate their experiences with mentoring and other support they
received. As shown in Table 4, both groups were positive about their working relationships
with mentors and co-workers, particularly in giving them a good and pleasant experience.
This is an indication that students having participated in the two extracurricular activities
have enhanced their social and interpersonal skills and gained some insights about self and
teamwork as found by Beard (2007), Paisey and Paisey (2010); Oosthuizen et al. (2021); and
Plant et al. (2019).
To examine the relationship between the development of skills and working
relationships for community accounting students, we used a non-parametric Spearman’s
rank correlation. First, we checked the reliability of scales using Cronbach’s alpha. The
cognitive and behavioural items all appeared to have good internal consistency, although
the alpha for the working relationship was slightly lower than 0.70 (Nunnally, 1978). After
the scores for the multi-scale items were summated and averaged, a Spearman’s correlation
was run to assess the relationships between the three constructs.
Table 5 shows the results for community accounting students. A significant positive
relationship was found between all the constructs. This result suggests that students’
development in cognitive and behavioural skills goes hand in hand with their working

Community Accountancy
accounting club
Working relationship Mean SD Mean SD

I really like the people I worked with. 4.28 0.85 n/a n/a
I could use my personal initiative or judgment in carrying out the work. 3.93 0.93 n/a n/a
My mentor helped make my involvement a pleasant experience. 4.02 0.89 4.22 0.9
My co-workers helped to make my involvement a good experience. 4.07 0.88 4.23 0.94
I did not get along with the people I work with.* 1.97 1.29 n/a n/a
My mentor did not provide me with enough support.* 2.97 1.29 2.42 1.55
Table 4.
I was given some feedback about my work performance. 3.25 1.16 n/a n/a
Working with
supervisors/mentors Notes: 1 = strongly disagree to 5 = strongly agree; *scores were later reversed for the purpose of
and others examining relationships
relationships with supervisors and co-workers. The opportunity to interact, work with and Bridging the
learn from supervisors and co-workers certainly helps students to enhance or develop employability
various employability skills.
For the accountancy club students, the same procedure was used to assess for reliability
skills gap
and correlation between behavioural and working relationship constructs. The Spearman
correlation was not significant, suggesting that students’ development of behavioural skills
was not enhanced by mentoring. This finding perhaps could be explained by the mentors
who were merely involved in overseeing the planned activities as appropriate for the club.
237
The club members, however, were the ones who took the initiative to plan and undertake the
running of the events.

4.5 Satisfaction
Students were asked to rate their satisfaction with their involvement using a scale of 1
(strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree).
As shown in Table 6, students from both groups indicated they enjoyed and were very
satisfied with, their involvement in both the community accounting and the accountancy
club. Community accounting students were generally positive about the work that was
involved and the supervision provided.
Cronbach’s alpha for the 10-item satisfaction construct was 0.694 (mean = 3.39; SD =
0.60) for community accounting. For the two-item satisfaction construct for the club, it was
0.818 (mean = 4.45; SD = 0.68).

4.6 Benefits
Table 7 shows students’ perceptions of the benefits from their involvement in community
accounting and the accountancy club. The results suggest that students felt they had
benefited tremendously from their experiences. They perceived such experiences as helpful
in enhancing their curriculum vitae (CV) and their chances of securing a job. Students also
agreed that such experiences helped them to build confidence in job interviews.
Accountancy club students felt that their involvement in activities provided them with
opportunities to know some potential business employers, and this could help in their job
search. These results, once again, are evidence to support prior research, such as Holzweiss
and Wickline (2007) and Rubin et al. (2002), that students who have participated in
voluntary community work and clubs do gain not only cognitive and interpersonal skills but
also other personal benefits.

Descriptive statistics Mean (SD) Alpha

Panel A
1. Cognitive 4.13 (0.63) 0.903
2. Behavioural 4.04 (0.67) 0.930
3. Working relationship 3.74 (0.59) 0.603
Panel B Table 5.
1. Cognitive 2. Behavioural
2. Behavioural 0.745**
Descriptive statistics
3. Working relationship 0.471** 0.457** and correlations –
community
Note: **p < 0.01 accounting
PAR Cronbach’s alpha for the four-item benefit construct was 0.824 (mean = 3.71; SD = 0.74) for
34,2 community accounting and for the club it was 0.731 (mean = 4.44; SD = 0.51).

4.7 Demographics effect

For community accounting students, an independent t-test was carried out to examine the
effects of age, gender, experience and ethnicity on cognitive and behavioural skills, working
238 relationships, satisfaction and benefits. For community accounting, only one significant
difference was found for gender and satisfaction. Although students expressed satisfaction
with their involvement in community work, male participants expressed more satisfaction
than female participants (p < 0.05). For the accounting club, one significant difference was
found for ethnicity and behavioural skills. Although all accounting club students perceived
behavioural skills development positively, those from the “other” group (primarily Asian)
rated them significantly higher than NZ European/Maori (p < 0.01). These findings suggest
that students of different cultures valued the benefits of involvement to a different extent.

Community accounting Accountancy club

Satisfaction Mean SD Mean SD

I enjoyed participating in community accounting/club. 4.32 0.68 4.58 0.56

Generally speaking, I am very satisfied with my involvement 4.15 0.85 4.32 0.87
in community accounting/club.
If I have questions about my duties, I could easily get help 4.02 0.99 n/a n/a
from my supervisor.
I am generally satisfied with the kind of work I did at 3.83 0.83 n/a n/a
community accounting.
I was given too much work during my participation in 2.37 1.19 n/a n/a
community accounting.*
I frequently thought of quitting from participating in 2.20 1.42 n/a n/a
community accounting.*
It was not clear what I was supposed to do in community 2.77 1.31 n/a n/a
accounting.*
I was closely supervised by my supervisor. 3.36 1.1 n/a n/a
It was unclear how to perform some of the work required in 2.76 1.15 n/a n/a
community accounting.*
I felt that I lacked some skills in certain areas in my 3.42 1.10 n/a n/a
involvement in community accounting.*
Table 6. Notes: 1 = strongly disagree to 5 = strongly agree; *scores were later reversed when examining
General satisfaction demographic effects

Community accounting Accountancy club

Benefits Mean SD Mean SD

Will enhance my resume/CV 4.46 0.74 4.63 0.56

Will help to build my confidence in job interviews 4.23 0.84 4.35 0.80
Will enhance my chances of getting a job after graduation 4.21 0.74 4.18 0.86
Table 7 Will help me become acquainted with some potential business 3.79 1.04 4.48 0.63
Benefits employers
4.8 Open-ended questions: Community accounting Bridging the
A few open-ended questions allowed students to give their views about their involvement in employability
community accounting and the club. Examples of open-ended responses about major
highlights and surprises include:
skills gap
Communication:
 Client engagement and communication.
 Improve my communication skills. 239
Teamwork:
 The teamwork was fantastic. Thoroughly enjoyed working with this team I was put
in.
 I really enjoyed getting to know my team and working with them; also the change to
use our skills to make a difference in the community is quite a fulfilling premise for
me.
 Honed leadership skills.

Application of knowledge:
 Applying knowledge to a practical situation, working with our chartered
accountant.
 What I have learnt past few years, I could use some of them in real world.
 The ability to apply university acquired knowledge to real life.
 Improve my problem-solving skills.

Practical:
 Seeing how a charity works on a day to day basis.
 Experience what the real life of accountant would be.
 Being able to create a whole financial system from scratch.
 Gain practical experience.

Network:
 Get to know and involve with local business and local people.
 Meeting new people and valuable experience.

Civic purpose:
 The sense of achievement to help people.
 Using knowledge to help give back to the community; helping charitable
organisation is really good feeling.
 Becoming much more involved with the community services council and not-for-
profit groups.

Organisational:
 Be well-prepared.
 Attending meeting with the client was a new and very formal experience.
PAR Surprises:
34,2  Yup, it was a nice opportunity to apply in real world life.
 The client had no bank account separate to the entity.
 Yes, I found I did not forget the things I learnt before and actually I found it is
interesting.
240  It is a great opportunity to attend the board meeting of the organization and know
how the organization works.
 Requires judgement to apply the knowledge into the real work.
 How little members of the public with no real accounting experience understand
about financial information and managing finances.
 How less compliant and less flexible the clients were.
 Yes. I was involved in a board meeting and felt great.

Some examples of the feedback from students in community accounting in response to

being asked “what they see as the major highlights of their involvement” and “were there
any surprises?” About 70% of the students provided specific feedback. The feedback related
to common themes was grouped together. The most discussed skills were communication,
teamwork, application of knowledge and experiencing real-life work. A few also mentioned
the chance to network with others, civic consciousness and organisational skills. The
insights gained from this feedback indicate that most of these views mirrored those of the
quantitative results. Students’ experiences in community work appeared to help in
enhancing their interpersonal, personal skills and allowed them to apply their knowledge to
real-life situations. Networking with others in the community was also mentioned by a few
students. Some students indicated their participation had a positive impact on civic
responsibility.
About 40% of students indicated some surprises, suggesting that some of their
experiences were “eye openers.” For instance, their experience in board meetings with
clients and how they were run, the compliance behaviour of clients, the turnover rate of their
client’s organisation and their flexibility or the absence of separate bank accounts. Other
surprises related to the individual student’s opportunity to have hands-on experience, which
was interesting, their involvement in board meetings, their support from the chartered
accountant and the amount of help with confidence building. One student further mentioned
she could see the limits of technical knowledge, suggesting that such experiences provided
students with the invaluable insight that there is much more than technical processes going
on in an organisation. The students realised that real work situations require several skills
and not merely technical skills. A few negatives were also mentioned by some students. One
student expected more mentorship, and another would have liked to know more about the
organisation. A few comments related to working with other team members who were not
working as well in a group as expected.
Further feedback shows that about 74% of the community accounting students provided
reasons why they would recommend that other students participate in community
accounting. Some reasons included:
 “a good way to learn real work activities”;
 “it is an amazing opportunity to work on the soft skills required for accounting and
a great networking opportunity”;
 “understanding the not-for-profit environment is very useful”; and
  “I believe they will be able to gain insightful knowledge about accounting and Bridging the
appreciate accountants more. Community accounting would definitely develop soft employability
skills and create connections with the community.”
skills gap

4.9 Open-ended questions: club

About 60% of the students in the club provided some feedback about major highlights.
Examples of open-ended responses about major highlights and surprises include: 241
Communication skills:
 Enhance my communication and interpersonal skills, which I cannot learn from
traditional classrooms.
 My communication skills have been improved.

Leadership:
 Enhance my leadership skills.
 Presidency, networking evening.

Organisation:
 Involved in planning some events and being a host in a panel discussion.
 Attending the Xero tutorial and helping at the employers’ evening.
 Organising the first business ball! As well as the local employers’ evening.

Network:
 Meeting new people, making new friends and getting involved in events.

Mentor:
 Kind teachers and good activities.

Events:
 The events were extremely relevant and exciting.
 Employer evening, Trivia Night.
 Expo, Trivia Night, CA presentation night, business ball.
 I have acquired a lot of useful information in accounting.

Surprises:
 Lack of cooperation from some executives.
 Yes. Joining the club is a really good way to meet professional people and build a
good relationship with some professional bodies.
 Mentor has provided lots of opportunities for us to build our own skills.
 I make some friends.
 The ability to run a ball.
 We managed to achieve everything we planned to achieve.

The feedback was grouped into themes of communication skills, leadership, organisation,
network, mentor and events. Most of the responses refer to the opportunity to develop their
PAR interpersonal skills, like leadership and communication skills. Some of the students’
34,2 highlights were the events that were organised for them, which included an employers’
expo, games nights and a ball. One student was surprised that there were problems in
working cooperatively with others. These types of activities therefore also provide students
with the opportunity to work in teams and to work out ways to solve conflicts.
About 70% of the accountancy club students and said they would recommend that
242 others participate in such a club. The responses appeared to indicate students’ “sense of
belonging”:
 “Definitely, gets you more involved with the school and university.”
 “A good professional club.”

Only two students cautioned about the time involved and the need to juggle time for study
and for such participation. Their views suggest that such involvement could interfere with
academic work as, otherwise, time could be spent on academic pursuits.
All these results generally show that extracurricular activities such as community
accounting and the accountancy club provide students with a valuable learning experience
in the real world as found by Butler et al. (2019), Furco (1996); and many others.

5. Conclusion
Employers are looking for a “well rounded” graduate, that is, one who performs well
academically and possesses good generic skills like cognitive and behavioural skills (Tan
and Laswad, 2015). However, a frequent criticism of accounting education at university is
that accounting graduates lack employability skills. It is therefore critical that accounting
educators provide students with several opportunities to develop important skills required
in the workplace.
This exploratory study examines students’ perceptions of their participation in two types
of extracurricular activity: volunteering in community work and an accountancy club, in the
development of employability skills such as cognitive and behavioural (personal and
interpersonal) skills. Students’ perceptions were based on their reflection of their concrete
experiences in these two types of out-of-classroom activity and their assessment of
developing employability skills. The results show that extracurricular activities can help
students develop a wide range of skills. This study therefore contributes to existing
knowledge by providing insights into the skills that accounting students can gain from
participation in community accounting service and accountancy club activities underpinned
by an experiential learning model of “grasping the experience” and “transforming the
experience.” Such a learning experience would be beneficial to students as it teaches them
how to learn to become continuous learners capable of responding to demands for change
and new skills throughout their careers.
The community accounting students’ reflections of their experiences indicated that their
involvement fosters cognitive and behavioural skills development. A good mentor and
cooperative team members also helped to facilitate their learning. Students viewed the skills
they learned in the workplace as satisfying and valuable, because they have the opportunity
to apply their knowledge to real work settings, connect theory with practice and develop a
number of personal and interpersonal skills. They further viewed their participation in these
activities as helping them to boost their confidence in seeking jobs.
The accountancy club students also reflected positively about their active involvement in
various club activities, which helped them build behavioural and leadership skills, as well as
strengthening their self-confidence. Students’ involvement in organising activities for the
club offered them the opportunity to interact with their peers, network with business Bridging the
professionals and support each other. employability
These findings are consistent with the literature on internships and service-learning
which have been associated with employability skills development (Beard, 2007; Fede et al.,
skills gap
2018; Paisey and Paisey, 2010). They also support prior literature that ELAs should be tied
to educational goals to further enhance students’ learning in-demand skills (Rama, 2007).
However, there are challenges for educators and employers. For instance, it can be
challenging to find community service projects for accounting students that will integrate 243
well with course content, owing to curriculum constraints and the limited study time
available (Chiang, 2008; Cook et al., 2003; Tan and Laswad, 2015; Wickham, 2018). In
addition, behavioural skills, such as personal and interpersonal, are harder to assess and
these skills have the greatest expectation gap as identified by different stakeholders, such as
employers and educators (de Lange et al., 2006; Oliver et al., 2011). As highlighted by
Beatson et al. (2021), the need by some students to work for paid employment to defray their
living costs often leads to a struggle to balance their time allocation between study, work
and life commitments. This study shows that one way of overcoming the lack of internship
opportunities, or the challenge of linking experiential learning to the accounting curriculum,
is to encourage accounting students to participate in extracurricular activities like
accountancy clubs and community service. As there are many student clubs or
organisations within a university, accounting academics can help to raise students’
awareness of the benefits of active participation in student clubs or organisations. To
motivate more students to get involved in extracurricular activities, perhaps some extra
credit points could be awarded in one of the accounting courses, like a capstone course.
Extracurricular activities like the accountancy club and community accounting project,
which are conducted under the auspices of the school, need staff to commit time to
organising and supporting the activities. Comparatively, it is more time consuming to
organise community projects than to mentor the club. The head of the accounting
department or discipline could certainly take the lead in the planning and organising of
community work, and staff could be asked to volunteer for mentoring student involvement
in clubs. A dedicated staff or mentor(s) is required to ensure that there are ongoing activities
and projects for students to develop various behavioural skills. To encourage participation
from staff, the academic staff workload could include the time involved in mentoring
students in clubs or in organising community projects for students. To act as a further
incentive, staff involvement could be considered in salary reviews and promotions.
This study provides valuable insights into students’ reflections on skills development
and the benefits of volunteerism and community service. In a way, experiential learning has,
as highlighted by Butler et al. (2019), provided a means to integrate context, understanding
and experience. Similarly, WIL programmes help to establish relationships among three
areas: education and the economy, theory and practices and education/training and
associated employers (Abeysekera, 2006).
As the study on student involvement in extracurricular activities is drawn from only one
university, the experiences may not necessarily be generalisable to other universities.
Despite the advantages of an online survey with open-ended questions, as a self-completion
questionnaire, it also has certain inherent limitations. For instance, self-assessed or self-
reported answers may be inflated, biased and unreliable due to the respondent’s
circumstances, behaviour or state of mind. All these could impact on the validity of the
results (Bell et al., 2019; Taylor, 2014). Further exploration of the perceptions of supervisors
or mentors would provide further insights into students’ skill development in community
activities and clubs.
PAR The sample in this study is also small, and it is possible that students with better
34,2 cognitive and behavioural skills self-select into extracurricular activities. Nevertheless, even
if this is the case, the results show that such involvement enhances skills development. An
ideal situation would be to allow all students the opportunity to participate in community
accounting projects. This would require accounting academics to establish strong
relationships and partnerships with the community and encourage community support for
244 student learning. Not only would this help to foster students’ skills development and civic
responsibility but it would also benefit the community.
This exploratory study did not link student participation in extracurricular activities
with academic performance, as these activities are not integrated into any course. Rather,
the skills achievement is based on students’ self-assessment of their achievement of skills
development in two different extracurricular activities within the campus. In this study,
some form of informal assessment, like mentor feedback and self-reflection on experiences,
did take place. Future research could certainly explore whether those involved in
extracurricular activities perceived they had improved their workplace skills as a result of
their involvement and that they had acquired more skills than those who were not involved.
Other types of extracurricular activities and their association with job outcomes could also
be examined. Lastly, an area that is worth exploring is the antecedents required for
experiential learning (inclusive of WIL). This can include curriculum design, the selection of
relevant programmes, the logistics involved in planning (e.g. funding, resources and
recognition of facilitators particularly the trade-offs relating to quality teaching and
research), not to mention the selection of students in terms of their aptitude and interest.

Notes
1. Other terms used interchangeably with these two terms include personal transferable skills, soft
skills, workplace skills and key competencies (O’Connell et al., 2015; Watty et al., 2012). The term
“employability skills” is used throughout this paper.
2. A recent study (Gittings et al., 2020) that reviewed research on the use of experiential learning
activities (ELAs) in accounting education at universities, further confirmed that most ELAs are
carried out within the classroom.
3. Staff commitment in terms of time involved in acting as a mentor, was recognised in the school
workload model.

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Further reading
Tan, L.M. and Fawzi, L. (2018), “Professional skills required of accountants: what do job
advertisements tell us?”, Accounting Education, Vol. 27 No. 4, pp. 403-432.

Corresponding author
Lin Mei Tan can be contacted at: l.m.tan@massey.ac.nz

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